Okayama Castle
When I was in Okayama, I visited Okayama Castle. The grounds are free which is great for people that just want to take a stroll or view the castle exterior. As a cheapskate, I pondered the idea of paying 300 yen to enter this castle. Considering the fact that I had never gone inside a Japanese castle, I decided to just go for it.
The castle was great as I didn’t have to remove my shoes. I’ve heard way too many stories of people having to take off their shoes when entering Japanese castles but that wasn’t required at Okayama Castle. This was definitely a perk. Other perks included an elevator inside the castle and decent photo opportunities.
While the elevator didn’t go all the way up to the top floor, I found it useful nonetheless. If you’re tired, you can just take the elevator to the “highest floor”, climb a bit of stairs and work your way down. (The elevator is also probably handy for those in wheelchairs and so forth.) I took the elevator with 3 other people and kind of wished I hadn’t because the two Japanese girls in the lift seemed to have an issue with me. Perhaps I was a bit stinky since I had briskly walked from Okayama Station to the castle? Regardless of the reason, it was rude and I did my best to stay away from these negative girls upon exiting the lift.
As with most places in Japan, there wasn’t much English around but it wasn’t non existent either. There was an area that had historical information on the Lord of Okayama Castle in English which I found to be nice. This area was also a place where you could take photos of “samurai” costumes. (I think the native visitors didn’t care for these “costumes” most likely because they weren’t legit armor that had survived battles.)
On the highest floors of the castle, you are treated to amazing views of Okayama. In addition to the views, you get to see some of the castle’s exterior up close. I enjoyed being able to see the little details that went into the making of the castle.
If you find the details to be a bit too shiny, it’s probably because the castle was actually rebuilt. From what I understand, the castle got destroyed back in WWII. If you’re curious as to how much of the castle actually got destroyed and rebuilt, you’ll have to google.
Photo Opportunities
I’m no IG model, but I appreciate photo opportunities nonetheless and Okayama Castle provided generous photo opportunities.
I had the opportunity to “observe” a battle. Not sure which battle this is but am I winning it or what in this selfie battle?
I’m boasting because the trick eye photo opportunity wasn’t meant for a solo traveler.
A guy that was there before me seemed rather bummed with this trick eye photo opportunity.
Looking back, I kind of wished I offered to take a photo for him but at the same time, I wasn’t in the mood to offer in my crap level Japanese. Plus, the guy didn’t ask me to take a photo for him, so… As he seemed like a nice guy, I hope he managed to get at least one decent photo. (FYI, he was someone that actually smiled at me when we ran into each other on another floor of the castle.)
The Lady of Okayama Castle
I also got to pretend that I’m a modern noble lady of Okayama Castle. (Give me your 300 yen, people. JK)
Now, this would have been impossible to take selfie-wise. Fortunately, there were English speaking foreign visitors that passed by as I sat in the palanquin. I thus asked one of the girls if she’d mind taking a photo for me. She took more than a few and complimented my phone. (My phone probably likes her, too.) I offered to take a photo for her but I guess the palanquin wasn’t that interesting to her or her friends. LOL
I’ve always wanted to be a rich girl and this palanquin photo is helping me reach rich girl goals. Talking about rich people, does the Ikeda family have a son my age with old money? If yes and he isn’t married, tell him I’m single. JK…
Anyway, when I was asking for my photo to be taken, a male native overheard and he couldn’t control himself from looking shocked. I kid you not when I say his eyes were bulging while looking at me.
I will never understand why it’s so shocking for Japanese natives to hear someone speak English fluently. As English is my native language, I of course was not trying to show off my English skills, although I understand it may appear that way when natives don’t realize you’re a foreigner that doesn’t look too foreign. (That or he was just flat out shocked that I was a foreigner. Whatever.)
Anyway, what really would have made me look like a noble lady of Okayama Castle was a pretty kimono. Unfortunately, the kimono fitting was not allowed due to COVID-19. Totally understandable. In fact, at the time of writing this entry, I believe Okayama Castle isn’t even open to the public anymore per COVID-19 safety.
Near the bottom of the castle, additional photo opportunities exist. I believe there were three scenic backgrounds you can take photos in and pretend you went “somewhere” in Okayama. Honestly, it was rather difficult to get decent pictures as it again wasn’t made for solo travelers and/or selfies but one of the photos I took came out nice, at least.
Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Okayama Castle. I think it’d have been great if I could see the original of the castle before it got destroyed but what can one actually do about that?
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